18. Guidelines for training in rapid appraisal for agroforestry research and extension.

Publ. of School of Development Studies, University of East Anglia

Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK, ISBN 0-85092-337-9, 1989, 117 pp.

The Commonwealth Science Council and the Forestry Commission of Zimbabwe collaborated in a training and research exercise in Shurugwi Communal Area in Zimbabwe in 1988, which resulted in the publication of "Guidelines for Training in Rapid Appraisal for Agroforestry Research and Extension", published by the University of East Anglia UK, and funded by the Ford Foundation.

The guidelines will help research and extension personnel in rapid appraisal methods for the development of agroforestry in peasant land-use systems.

The authors say that four key principles underlie the methods used: the first is "interactive research" whereby agroforestry interventions are identified and developed through working with and learning from farmers and the local community, as well as through conventional resource assessment. The second, "learning by doing", assumes that interactive research is best learned through real application rather than through lectures or classroom exercises and simulations. The third principle is "inter disciplinary", and is the key to successful interactive research.

Finally, agroforestry interventions are developed from an understanding of constraints and conflicts existing within the rural community over access to production resources.

This is a practical, easy-to-read, spiral-bound book, which takes the reader through the project step-by-step with charts, diagrams, clear text, and colour photos.